Pardon my Past Again
by Allen92909
Summary: A woman stumbles on an old magic book and begins to use the spells for her own gain, unaware of any magical side effects. She gets into a bit of trouble and the Charmed Ones come to her aid.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Charmed or any of it's characters

This story was inspired by a certain ancestor of the Charmed Ones. It revolves around a woman who stumbles on a magic book and begins using spells for her own gain, as she really has no understanding of the craft. She gets into some trouble and the Charmed One's come to her rescue. For those who are fans of the comics, this story is set in the future, but is not based on any info created in the comics. It's based only on what was given to us in the show.

**CHAPTER 1**

_It was a dark, dreary night during the roaring twenties. Thunder sounded in the distant sky as rain began to fall. A woman walked up to an apartment building near Chinatown and hurried inside. She shivered from the rain that soaked her brown hair and red flapper dress. She had a brown leather book clung tightly to her chest. _

_Inside, the woman made it to the apartment on the second story and rushed herself in to dry off. She went to the bedroom and reached for a floorboard, pulling it up and stashing her book inside. Her lover lay asleep on the bed, his face illuminated briefly by the lightening outside. She changed into a nightgown and lay next to him barely able to sleep. She fiddled with the amulet around her neck, a gift from her lover, as she thought about the morning to come. It could very well be her last morning. The only family she had left, her cousins, were now her enemies and she was about to confront them once and for all. _

Decades later, Alyson McCalister walked into that same apartment building. A table saw buzzed in the background as she maneuvered around tools, ladders, and construction workers. The building was in the process of being renovated. She made her way to the second story, to an apartment. She pushed a wave of red hair behind her left ear and stepped inside. "Hey, Bill." She waved at one of the workers as she shuffled her purse from one arm to the other.

"Alyson, good to see you again." He said. "What can I do for ya?"

"I'm just here to get a look at the place, maybe get some inspiration for design purposes." She explained. Alyson worked as an interior designer. The owner of the building hired the company she worked for to design the inside of that specific unit for a client that would eventually be purchasing it.

"Ok, just be careful. Pulled some rotted floorboards up in the bedroom." He said.

She smiled. "Thanks."

The unit was a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment. It had a smaller kitchen and a large living area. Alyson was picturing an elegant kitchen, with white cabinets and brown or gray granite counter tops. She headed into the bathroom and saw the old claw foot bathtub, wondering what it would cost to restore it and keep it in the apartment. She walked into the bedroom and caught glimpse of something partially under a floorboard.

Alyson knelt down, setting her purse beside her on the floor. She reached under the floorboard and pulled up an old brown leather book. She used her hand to brush some of the dust off of it's cover and took a peek inside. The book seemed to be filled with spells and potions, but it also seemed to be a journal of sorts. Before she could read any pages, Bill entered the room. "Everything ok?" He asked.

She whipped around quickly, closing the book. "Yeah, um...I think I'm done here." She stuffed the book into her purse and rose to her feet. "Thanks." She walked out quite quickly and headed home, eager to read some entries in the book.

Alyson drove to her mother's house, her temporary home after she left her cheating, lying husband. It was an older Victorian home on Prescott Street. She and her daughter Alex, which was short for Alexandria, moved in a few weeks back. Her mother was thrilled to have them, but Alyson was less than thrilled about living back home.

When she arrived home, she checked the clock, noting that her daughter would be done at school in about an hour. She went up to her old bedroom and sat on her bed, leaning back against the head board. She pulled the book from her purse and opened the cover to the first page. "Pearl's Black Magic." Alyson read out loud. She made a face and asked herself. "What kind of name is Pearl?" She continued to read, flipping to other pages. She found a spell to invoke nightmares, a potion to attract lovers, and many other spells, wondering if they truly worked or not. _"Who am I kidding? Magic isn't real." _She thought as she slammed the book closed.

A few minutes later, she was opening the book again. She didn't think magic was real, so what was the harm in trying a spell or two. She wrote down a few things on a paper and stuffed the paper in her purse.

Eleven year old Alex stood on the sidewalk at school impatiently awaiting for her mother to pick her up. It wasn't like her to be late. She had only been at the school a few weeks and had already made friends with Peyton Halliwell. They sat and talked as they waited for their respective parents.

"Your Mom really works at a Newspaper?" Alex asked, the warm sun beating down on her. She would give anything for a pair of sunglasses.

"Yeah, she has an advice column." Peyton replied. "So what's it like being an only child? I'm the middle child of three unfortunately." Sometimes she wished she were an only child at times.

"Well, I used to get spoiled by my parents, but then they separated. I think they're going to divorce or something." Alex answered. She certainly wasn't happy about the possible divorce, but she had heard her mother saying her father had done some bad things. She didn't know what all of those things were though. "Now my Mom barely has any money and we had to move in with my grandma. I don't think she is really happy living with my grandma either."

"At least you have a Grandma." Peyton replied. "My Grams died before I was even born. She died right after my Mom was born."

"That sucks." Alex said.

"Where does your Grandma live?" She asked.

Alex thought for a minute, trying to remember the address. "She lives on Prescott Street, 1331 I think."

"You're kidding right? My Aunt Piper lives just a few houses down on Prescott Street." Peyton replied.

Phoebe Halliwell pulled her mini van up to the curb and rolled down the passenger window. "Hey, Peyton." She said, putting the van in park.

"Hey, Mom." She replied. "Can we wait with Alex until her Mom gets here?"

Phoebe shook her head, "Ok, I guess." She turned off the car and got out. "Is your Mom usually late Alex?"

Alex looked up at Phoebe. "No, not really." She answered.

Alyson pulled up her SUV behind Phoebe's van. She put the car in park and climbed out. "Sorry I'm late Alex, had to run to Chinatown and pick a few things up." She explained. She turned to Phoebe. "Thanks for staying with her."

"It was no problem." Phoebe assured her. They weren't waiting long anyways. "We really need to get these girls together again for another afternoon of fun."

"Yeah that sounds great, maybe over the weekend." Alyson replied. "Anyways, we should go. Bye!"

Her and Alex both ushered to the car and drove off. Alyson had to get Alex to her fathers place for the night. She was also eager to get home and try her first spell, though she was certain it wouldn't work.

In her mothers basement, Alyson opened the leather book and turned to a spell for wealth. She squinted at the old cursive, reading the page to herself. "_In a cauldron of water, place a silver coin. Join hands with whom the spell is to affect and chant the words below. Once recited, pour the water over the earth and carry the coin as one would carry a charm."_ She pulled out an old silver coin that once belonged to her father and placed it in the cauldron that she had purchased earlier along with candles and other items at an occult shop in Chinatown. She added water and recited the spell. "I ask the lady of the moon, to bring to us your wealth right soon, jewels, money, silvers, and gold, all you give our hands can hold." She sighed and closed the book. She grabbed the coin and placed it in her jean pocket and carried the cauldron out through the kitchen. It was late enough that her mother was asleep soundly in her bed.

Alyson stepped outside into the brisk night air. Under the light of the moon, she poured the water over the Earth as the spell had called for...well, over the dirt her mothers azaleas were planted in. If anything, she gave the flowers a good watering.

* * *

I had this idea that maybe Pearl Russel might have had a book of her own potions and spells, kind of like Grams did. I made potions, spells, journal entries all for this possible book. I wish I could share all the pages I made here so you all could see them. That all helped to inspire this story. Feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts so far.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Charmed or any of it's characters.

I decided to post chapter 2 today along with chapter 1. Since I did not use info from the comics, you will see that I did make up my own names for most of the Charmed Ones kids, besides Chris and Wyatt of course.

**CHAPTER 2**

Alex walked several feet in front of her mother, excited because she was about to see Peyton. She was anxious to show Peyton her new outfit. Her mother had won ten thousand dollars on a scratch off lottery ticket that week and took her on a shopping spree for an early birthday present. It was the weekend now and Peyton was at her Aunt's house, so it was only a house away from their own.

Anxiously, Alex rang the bell at the door as her mother took in the architecture of the Halliwell Manor. Alyson had lived by the manor for most of her life, but never knew the Halliwell family. After she had moved out of her mother's house, she had only heard stories of some of the weird things that went on at the manor. Her mother spoke of them having guests at weird hours and having to replace doors and windows countless times. The Halliwell sisters were even on the news once for supposedly helping Homeland Security with things unknown to the public. Her mother said that they seemed like an odd family, but Alyson wasn't about to judge before meeting all of them and now a Halliwell seemed to be the only friend her daughter had.

A teen with brown hair that was clearly in need of a trim answered the door. "Hey, you must be Alex." He said. She was too lost in his deep green eyes to answer. "I'm Chris, Peyton's cousin."

Alyson nudged her daughter. "Yes, this is Alex and I'm her mother Alyson." She said.

"Come on in." Chris replied. He turned for a quick second, yelling. "Peyton, your friends' here."

"Hey." Peyton squealed in excitement when she saw Alex. The girls ran off with one another.

Alyson just stood awkwardly as her daughter tore off. Chris smiled. "Aunt Phoebe's in the kitchen with my Mom, let me take you back there." He said.

"Thanks." She replied. She glanced around the manor as they walked straight back through what seemed to be the living room and the dining room. She saw a slew of pictures going up the stairs and thought about what a big family the Halliwells must have been. They took a left and entered the kitchen.

"Aunt Phoebe." Chris said.

Phoebe smiled. "Hi, Alyson. So glad you could come for lunch." Chris walked off.

"Thanks for inviting us." She replied.

Piper made sort of grunting sound. "Oh, this is my sister Piper." Phoebe said quickly. "Piper, this is Alyson."

"It's nice to meet you." Piper would have offered a hand to shake, but she was holding a plate of food.

"You too." Alyson replied. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Thanks, but I think we're just about done here." Piper said as she walked around Alyson on her way to the dining room.

Alyson and Phoebe followed Piper into the dining room where the table was already filled with food. "I was looking at pictures and you guys sure seem to have a big family." Alyson said. Piper went to find the girls and Chris.

"Yeah, Coop and I have three kids. Piper has two herself and then there's my other sister, Paige, and her kids." Phoebe explained.

"And you're all still happily married?" Alyson asked.

Phoebe made a look of pure confusion. "Of course. Why would you ask that?"

"Oh, it's just that my marriage turned out to be a total sham. I'm probably a little jealous." She explained. "I've had a lot of bad luck in the last few years."

"Come on." Phoebe said. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

"Well, I quit the best job of my life so I could be a stay at home Mom for Alex. When she started school I got pregnant again. So, even though I had planned to get back into the job market, I decided to continue being a stay at home Mom. Eight months along, I lost the baby because of complications."

Piper walked in just in time to hear Alyson talking about losing her baby at eight months. "I almost lost my little Peanut. I can't even imagine what it would have felt like if I had." She said.

Chris walked in behind her. "I told you to stop calling me that Mom." He grabbed a plate and started filling it, walking off when he finished.

"He's working on a project for school, I told him he could eat in his room if he wanted." Piper explained.

"Oh ok." Phoebe replied. The three of them sat, waiting for the girls to join them. "I can't imagine losing a child either, but that aside, I'm sure your life wasn't that bad." Phoebe thought about her life as a witch and demon hunter. Surely Alyson's life wasn't nearly as bad as her own had been on some occasions.

"Well, my husband turned out to be a dirt bag. Cheated on me once and I made the mistake of forgiving him and assuming it wouldn't happen again. Then, last year, he tells me he wants a divorce so he can marry his secretary." Alyson explained.

"Ouch, that's awful." Piper replied.

"When the divorce proceedings started, our lawyers decided we should sell the house and split the profits. That's when I discovered we were so in debt on the house, that we didn't stand to make any profit off of it." She continued. "So I had to move in with my mother and struggle to find work after all those years and because I was out of work for so long, I couldn't get the same position that I used to work as at another design firm."

"My husband and I went through a period of separation." Piper explained. "It was shortly after our oldest son, Wyatt, was born. I think it was hardest on Wyatt because his Dad wasn't around as much as he used to be. My husband wasn't a dirt bag though. Guess I was lucky."

"Yeah, it just seems like everything is going wrong in my life, everything except for Alex. She's been great, but she doesn't really understand why her Dad and I aren't married anymore." Alyson said. She didn't know why she was opening up so quickly to Phoebe and her sister, but if felt good to get it all out. "I've had some bad luck lately, but that's all about to turn around."

"I'm glad your so positive." Phoebe replied. She could feel with her empathy power that Alyson mean what she had said, that Alyson truly was being positive.

Peyton and Alex walked in. "Sorry we took so long, I took her back to the garden to show her the flowers we were planting. Had to wash our hands." Peyton said. Both girls sat at the table.

"We should do a garden at Grandma's house." Alex suggested to her mother. "They have all kinds of interesting plants and herbs in theirs. It's so pretty."

Over the years Piper had started an herb garden in the backyard near the rose garden. They went through enough herds fighting demons and making potions. She thought it would be quite useful and it has been. Whatever ingredients she could not grow, she went to a little shop in Chinatown for. She had become a usual customer for the owner over the years.

"Well, I'll think about it." Alyson replied. She took a plate full of salad and glanced up. "So who's the cook in the family?"

Piper smiled. "That would be me."

"She actually owns a restaurant downtown." Phoebe added in.

"Wow, impressive." Alyson said.

Alex looked over at her. "Did you tell them about the money you won?" She asked.

Phoebe looked at Alyson surprised. "What money?"

Alyson shook her head. "Oh, it was just a measly scratch off ticket." She explained.

"Yeah ten thousand dollars." Alex added in. "She took me on a shopping spree for my birthday."

"Really?" Piper asked. She was clearly surprised as well. "I have the worst luck with those. I don't think I've ever won more than ten bucks."

"Looks like your luck is already changing." Phoebe said.

After lunch, Alyson had to get Alex home. Her father was going to be picking her up for a movie. To Alyson's surprise though, Alex's Dad, Mark, showed up with his secretary in tow. His secretary was part of the reason for their divorce. Mark had cheated on her with the woman and claimed he wanted to be with her instead.

Alyson opened the front door and stood in shock when she saw that Mark had 'her' with him. "Why the Hell is Bridget here?" She asked.

"Hey, Alyson." Bridget said cheerily. Alyson wished she could smack the cheer right out of her.

"Like it or not, Bridget is apart of my life. We are getting married after all." Mark explained. "So, I want her to be apart of Alex's life too."

"Wait, what?" Alyson shook her head frantically. "You're getting married?"

"This isn't exactly how I planned on telling you, but you need to know. Our divorce is nearly final and when it is we plan to have our wedding." He replied.

Alex came running down the stairs. "Daddy." She screamed. Her arms wrapped around him.

"We'll be back after the movie." Mark said. He lead Alex and Bridget out to the car as Alyson stood staring in disbelief.

Alyson slammed the door and went to the basement. She opened her new found book of magic and began to flip through the pages. She stopped when she found an entry to separate two lovers. It required a picture of the lovers and a black candle. She wasn't sure the spell would work, but she never thought the money spell would work either and it did. She won ten thousand dollars on a lottery ticket and even received a raise in pay at the design firm she worked at.

Alyson had purchased an array of candles and even various herbs and things for potion making. Luckily, she had one black candle. Lighting the candle, she wondered where she would get a picture of Mark and Bridget. Then, a light bulb flickered in her mind. She ran upstairs to her laptop and found her husband's Facebook page on the internet. His profile picture was one of he and Bridget. Alyson printed the picture out and went back to the dark basement. She held the picture in the candle's flame and watched as it began to burn. Her gaze slowly moved to the magic book and she read the spell aloud. "Take this couple here before me, Displace their love, let their hearts be free, Turn their feelings into hate, Soon to part, that is their fate, With this spell, I now have won, Their love is cursed to come undone." The flame in the candle flared, causing Alyson to jump back a step. Ashes from the picture fluttered near the candle.

Almost three hours later, Alex stormed into the house after her movie. "I never want to see Dad again." She said angered as she ran passed her mother for the stairs.

"Why, what's going on?" Alyson asked her.

"Dad and Bridget started fighting in the middle of the movie and they got us kicked out. So, we went to get dinner and they argued even more." She stopped and explained to her mother. "I hate Bridget, she ruined everything."

Before Alyson could get a word in edgewise, Alex was already on her way up the stairs to her room. She thought about her spell, wondering if that meant it was working. Then, she wondered if she was being too foolish in using such a spell. Was it really her place to break up Mark and Bridget? She hated Bridget and was pissed at Mark, but she never wanted her daughter to witness them fighting.

* * *

Please feel free to leave any comments. I will get the next chapter posted in a few days. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Charmed or any of it's characters.

Thank you for the reviews on the previous chapters. Please enjoy the next chapter. Sorry it's not as long as the others.

**CHAPTER 3**

Peyton fought her oldest sister, Prue, for the bathroom. After losing the fight, she went down to the kitchen for breakfast. Her mother had a bowl and cereal all laid ought on the island for her and her sisters. "Morning Mom." She said as she took a seat.

Phoebe stood at the counter, filling a mug up with coffee. "Morning. Better eat up, I have to drop you guys at school early this morning." She replied.

"Well, I'd be ready to go if someone wasn't hogging the bathroom." She was referring to her sister. She started on her breakfast.

Phoebe yelled. "Prue, let your sister use the bathroom."

Coop walked into the kitchen. "Prue's in her room. Sarah's in the bathroom." He said.

"Ugh, I'm never going to get in there." Peyton replied.

Phoebe tried to change the subject. "So, how are Alex and her Mom doing.? You haven't really talked about them since they were over last weekend."

"Alex is doing good. She and her Mom are going to be moving into their own place." Peyton answered in between bites of cereal.

"They are?" She asked back.

"Yeah, guess her Mom got a raise at work." Peyton replied.

"Wow, that's good I guess. You know, I saw a wedding announcement in the paper. Is her Dad getting married again?" Phoebe asked.

"Oh, they were supposed to. Alex says that her Dad started fighting with his secretary and that they called it off." Peyton explained. "I'm gonna go see if I can get in the bathroom now."

Peyton tore off through the house, leaving Phoebe and Coop alone. "Sounds like our daughter is in a real life soap opera sometimes." Phoebe said.

"Sounds more like her friend is to me." Coop replied, reaching for the coffee.

"So tell me, where were the cupids when Alex's Dad left her mom for his secretary?" Phoebe asked sarcastically.

Coop shook his head. "We don't pair up everyone. Some people meet naturally, without our guide and some of those people just aren't meant to be." He explained.

"So Alyson and her husband weren't meant to be, is that what you're telling me?" Phoebe shot back.

"I'm not saying anything." Coop replied, putting his hands out in protest.

"Fine, I gotta get the girls to school." Phoebe said.

Phoebe walked off. Clearly Alyson and her husband were not meant to be, otherwise they would still be married. Many relationships ended in divorce. She thought about her own past relationship with Cole. That ended in a total disaster. She had even been briefly married to another man as well. Her own parents were victims of divorce. "Girls." She yelled up the stairs. "Time for school." Her three girls came running down the stairs with their back packs in hand.

Peyton was excited to see Alex when she got to school. They had gotten pretty close over the last few weeks. They both sat together as they waited for their first class of the day to start. "So when do you move into your new place?" Peyton asked.

"My mom signs the papers today and we move in over the weekend." Alex answered. "She took me to see the place and it's a really nice apartment."

"Wow, that's so cool." Peyton said.

A curious look came over Alex's face and she asked. "What do you know about magic?"

Peyton froze for a moment, unsure of how to answer the question. Alex couldn't possibly know that she was a witch or that she came from a family of witches. "Uh, I don't know much, accept for what I've seen on tv." Peyton finally answered. "Why?"

"Do you think it's real?" Alex asked. "I mean, I heard my Mom in the basement the other night talking or chanting I think. Later, I went down there and found this old brown book with writing in it. I think it had spells in it."

"Wait, you're serious?" Peyton asked back in disbelief.

"I know, I know. It sounds crazy," Alex replied. "but she had all these candles down there too and these bags of ingredients, like herbs and stuff that I've seen in your Aunt's garden."

The teacher walked into the classroom, ready to start the day. Peyton turned to face forward and thought about what Alex said. Maybe her mother was a witch. That would explain the book of spells and all of the candles and herbs.

When Phoebe arrived to pick her up from school that day, she contemplated telling her mother about what Alex mentioned. She opened her mouth to speak and closed it when she saw Alyson walking up to them. "Phoebe, Peyton. Hi." She said to them.

"Oh hi." Phoebe replied. "How are you?"

Alyson smiled. "Good, really good." She answered. "Just had to come and update our address information for the school. Alex and I are moving into our own place."

"I heard. She told Peyton about it." Phoebe said. "When do you move?"

"I'm hoping tomorrow, but I only have so much room in my car to fit everything. I need to rally my friends and see if someone can help." She replied.

"Well, all the seats fold down in my mini van and it can fit a ton of stuff. My husband and I can help you move if you want, plus it will give the girls some time to hang out." Phoebe offered.

"Oh, no. You don't have to do that." Alyson said graciously.

"It's really no problem. We'd be glad to help." Phoebe replied.

Alex walked up behind them. "Hey." She said.

"Hi Honey." Alyson replied. "How do you feel about hanging out with Peyton tomorrow? Her Mom offered to help get us moved into our new place."

"Sounds like fun." Alex replied with a smile.

"Ok, well we gotta get going." Alyson said after glancing down at the watch on her wrist. Her eyes moved to Phoebe. "I appreciate you offering to help. If you guys want to come by in the morning that would be great."

"We'll be there." Phoebe replied.

That evening, after Alex went to bed, Alyson stood in the basement of her mothers home. Though she had told Phoebe earlier in the day that things were good, there was something she was very upset about. She had recently received a raise at work, which she assumed was because of her first spell, but there was a promotion at work that was given to a co-worker. She didn't expect to get the promotion, but was upset to see this person receive it. It was someone at work that she truly loathed, someone who liked to talk bad of others and belittle others.

Alyson held out a pen with the name Meghan Orley engraved on it. She already had the magic book opened to the perfect spell. "Let evil taint this object here, Curse the one who holds it dear." She read aloud. It was a spell to curse an object. She had no idea what the results of the spell would be, but hoped it would bring a bit of bad luck to her co-worker. The pen was something she used everyday when she worked. All Alyson had to do was return to her desk on Monday morning.

When the spell was done, Alyson headed up the creaky old stairs to her bedroom. She thought about the spells she had cast, wondering if she was being selfish in doing them. Alyson didn't know much about spell casting or being a witch. She didn't know that there were certain rules that most good witches followed when spell casting. She didn't know how spells could backfire when used for personal gain. All she knew was that with every spell she cast, she was tempted to do more. She felt like she couldn't stop herself.

In the Underworld, a warlock paced back and forth, nearly wearing a groove in the stone floor. An altar stood before him with various items and tools on it. Zenic was a tall warlock and he had a vast array of powers at his disposal. He once worked with the warlock Anton, who has long since been vanquished. He has taken pride in killing young witches before they could embrace their destiny and in fact, has gotten most of his powers from these various witches he has killed. His ultimate goal was to become powerful enough to take place as the next Source of All Evil. That position has been empty since the vanquish of the great Zankou, who tried to rule briefly.

Anton came from a family of witches. Zenic was the one who turned him and made him use his magic for evil means. He helped to guide Anton and kept close with him even after he had transitioned from witch to full warlock. Zenic heard rumors that Anton had written a spell that could kill a Warren Witch instantly, a spell he had given to his lover. Zenic would do just about anything to obtain such a spell and now it was nearly in his grasp. He couldn't very well take over the Underworld and risk any Warren descendants coming after him. The Charmed Ones were who he was most worried about.

Another warlock walked up to Zenic. "I believe the book has been found." He said. "It was in an old apartment near Chinatown, hidden under the floorboards. A woman named Alyson found it."

"And what about the spell, is it in the book?" Zenic asked curiously.

"I'm not sure. We'll have to get the book and see for ourselves." He replied. "The woman's been using spells from the book though and she lives only a few houses away from the Halliwell Manor."

"I hate to attempt anything that close to the manor, but I need that book." Zenic said. "It's nearly morning now, perhaps we can try and get it tonight."

* * *

This chapter introduces the 'big bad,' warlock Zenic. You'll see more of him in the next chapters. Feel free to let me know your thoughts. The next chapter will be up in 2 or 3 days.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Charmed or any of it's characters.

This chapter is a bit longer than the last chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

**CHAPTER 4**

The sun rose in the morning sky. Phoebe and Coop dropped Sarah and Prue off at the manor to spend the day with their older cousins. Then, they drove two houses down to the house where Alyson lived with her mother. Alex and Peyton would stay with Alyson's mother, while they moved everything to the apartment.

Phoebe and Coop rang the bell and Alyson answered. "Hey, guys." She said.

"Hi." Phoebe replied. "This is my husband Coop."

Coop offered a hand out to shake. "It's nice to finally meet you. Peyton won't stop talking about your daughter."

"Dad!" Peyton interjected. She felt a bit embarrassed.

"It's nice to meet you too." Alyson replied as she shook his hand. "I appreciate the help. Alex is up in her room if you want to go and find her."

"Thanks." Peyton tore up the stairs with a smile on her face.

Alyson introduced Phoebe and Coop to her mother before they started packing up the cars and moving things.

Peyton found Alex upstairs in her room. They talked, gossiped, and browsed through some teen magazines hoping to spot pictures of their favorite singers. They listened to music and even did a little dancing, though neither one of them was very coordinated on their feet. They spent a good chunk of the afternoon just goofing around and having fun.

After a while, Alex decided she wanted to show something to Peyton and Peyton followed her downstairs. "Grandma, we're going to play in the yard." She said as she peeked her head into the front parlor where her grandmother was engrossed in a book.

"Ok." She replied.

Alex lead Peyton through the kitchen to the back door. She opened it, closed it, and turned to the basement stairs. "I thought we were going outside?" Peyton asked.

"There's something I want to show you in the basement." Alex replied. She maneuvered down the old stairs and turned the corner. There was a table with a box on it. A book laid next to the box. She opened the box and pulled out some of the candles and herbs that were in it. Her mother must have packed it all for the move. "This is the stuff I was telling you about and this is the book."

Peyton opened the old brown book and read the first page out loud. "Pearl's Black Magic, 1923." She flipped to the second page and started reading out loud. "I am Pearl Russel..." She paused for a moment, recognizing the name. "a witch born of the Warren bloodline."

"What, why did you pause?" Alex asked. "What's with that look on your face?"

"Uh nothing, it's just that this book is a little strange." Peyton lied. Pearl Russel was an ancestor of hers and a past life of her mother's. She was a witch that had been led astray, using her magic for her own means and even falling in love with a warlock. She didn't tell Alex that she knew who Pearl was or that she was related to her.

"I know and my mom's been reading this and doing stuff down here at night." Alex informed her.

Peyton flipped through some more pages in the book. There was a spell for wealth, one to separate two lovers, and various other spells. Alex's mom did recently come into some money and conveniently, her father and his secretary girlfriend had ended their relationship. Maybe spells were to blame. They were spells Peyton was taught to never use, especially if they were ones that could harm another. "Have you asked your mom about this?" She asked Alex.

"Are you kidding me?" Alex asked back. " I haven't said anything to her about this."

Zenic sat in a Starbucks sipping a caramel macchiato. When he wasn't in the darkness of the Underworld, he liked to blend in with the mortal world. He found that coffee and cappuccinos seemed to be a weakness of his. He enjoyed them very much.

Zenic also liked to people watch. His eyes followed an array of people in and out of the coffee shop as they got their fix of caffeine for the day. His senses spiked when a woman walked in. She was older with graying hair and she ordered a simple black coffee. He smiled at her as she passed him on her way out. She was a witch and he knew it the moment she walked in. He was tempted to follow her, but he preferred younger witches. Killing her would be too easy.

That aside, he was too focused on the night ahead of him. He hoped to finally have Pearl Russel's magic book and with it, the spell that would instantly kill a Warren witch. There was no proof the spell would even work, but there were rumors that Anton tried the spell on a Warren witch and that it worked like a charm. Of course, the rumors were just that...rumors.

As evening came, Peyton sat in her Aunt Piper's kitchen eating a piece of cheesecake. Her parents had helped Alex and her mom get moved into their new place and were now finishing up dinner with family. She fought her cousin, Wyatt, for the last piece and was enjoying every last bite as her Aunt Piper and Paige did dishes at the sink.

"Did you have fun with your friend today?" Paige asked Peyton.

"Yeah, but something kind of weird happened." Peyton answered.

"What's that?" Piper asked, setting her rag down and turning to face her niece. Paige continued drying dishes, but turned to her niece as well.

"She thought that her mom might be doing magic, that she might be a witch and she showed me this magic book that she found her mom reading from one night." Peyton paused for a moment. "I think the book belonged to Pearl Russel."

"Pearl Russel? Wasn't that Phoebe's past life?" Paige asked Piper.

"It was." Piper answered. "Why do you think it was her book?"

"It had her name in it. Plus, there were journal entries and spells, potions." Peyton explained. "There was a spell to make someone wealthy and her mom did just win the lottery and get a raise at work. There was another spell to separate two lovers and Alex's dad and girlfriend broke up kind of suddenly."

"And you think her Mom used spells from this book to make all that happen?" Piper asked.

"I don't know, but it's kind of weird if you ask me." She replied.

"Yeah, it is kind of weird." Paige added in. "Maybe we should talk to Phoebe."

Phoebe walked into the kitchen with dirty dessert plates in hand. "Talk to me about what?"

Piper smiled at Peyton. "Why don't you go and see what your cousins are doing." She suggested.

"You know, you could just say that you want to talk alone." Peyton replied before walking out.

"What's going on? Don't tell me it's a demon thing?" Phoebe said as she piled the dishes next to Piper at the sink. It had been weeks since their last demon encounter and even then, Wyatt and Chris had taken care of it.

"Not exactly." Paige said.

"Peyton said that Alex thinks her mom is a witch. She showed Peyton this magic book of her moms and it had Pearl Russel's name in it." Piper explained to Phoebe. "It had spells, potions, and even some kind of journal entries."

Paige added in. "She thinks that some of the spells could be the reason that Alex's mom has been so fortunate lately."

"Wait, Alyson has a book that belonged to Pearl Russel? If she had a book, wouldn't it have been in the attic with all the other random junk left by our ancestors?" Phoebe asked.

"Pearl was evil, wasn't she?" Paige asked. "She did a lot of magic for personal gain, so maybe she had a book and had to keep it hidden from her cousins. I mean, they didn't live in the manor together did they, maybe she kept it at her own place. Besides, we all have our own little books of spells aside from the big book upstairs."

"Well, if her cousins disapproved of her use of magic, I guess she could have put her spells in her own book." Phoebe said. "So what do we do, confront Alyson?"

"We might have to, especially if she is using the spells for her own gain." Piper said.

"I guess I can call her..." Phoebe was cut off by the sound of sirens outside. It was more than just your typical police car. "I wonder where they're going?"

Wyatt stepped into the kitchen. "Hey Mom, police cars and an ambulance just whizzed by and I think they stopped at Alex's house."

"What?" Piper screamed. Her and her sisters quickly made their way through the house and out to the front porch, glancing down the street in shock.

"Oh my god." Phoebe said.

Leo joined them on the porch, which in all reality was not really made to hold four people. "Isn't that Alex's house?" He asked.

"Yeah, we'll be right back." Piper said. "Stay with the kids." Her, Phoebe, and Paige walked down the street and stopped where police had begun to rope off the scene. Some of their other neighbors had already begun to gather in awe on the sidewalk and street.

"What happened here?" Paige asked one of the police officers.

"Woman called, thought someone had broken into her home." He explained. "Looks like a burglary gone bad. They're taking her to the hospital now."

Paramedics wheeled the gurney out of the house with a body on it. One pushed the gurney as another pushed his hands up and down on a woman's chest. A third paramedic pushed the gurney with one hand, while his other hand compressed an oxygen mask that was over her mouth and helped her to breath. It was hard to see who the woman was, but Phoebe assumed it was Alex's grandmother. She would have been the only one in the house now that Alyson and Alex were all moved into their new place.

Phoebe's eyes began to water some, though she didn't personally know Alex's grandmother all that well. She scanned over the crowd of onlookers and stopped on a taller man who seemed a bit out of place with a dark smile formed on his pale face. Frantically, she pulled on Piper, getting her to focus her attention on the man. "There." She pointed.

Piper looked just in time to see the man disappear in the blink of an eye. "A warlock." She said.

"Where?" Paige asked, turning her attention to whatever it was Piper and Phoebe had been looking at.

"He was right there." Phoebe pointed.

"I guess this confirms that Alyson is a witch. Why else would a warlock be after her or her family?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, but why is he after them?" Paige asked back, her hand resting on her hip.

"I have no idea. Maybe the warlock's in the book." Phoebe replied.

The sisters walked back to the manor and up to the attic where the book laid in it's usual spot on the podium. Paige was the first one to the book. She flipped open the cover and browsed the pages trying to find the warlock. "There's a dragon warlock." She said to her sisters, who had sat on the old couch near the podium. "Say's he's a witch killer."

"I'd say they're all witch killers, but he's been vanquished already." Phoebe replied.

"Oh, guess that was before my time." Paige said back. She continued her search. She passed a page for the Collectors. She had heard a story about her sisters encounter with the Collectors and assumed they were not the warlock they were looking for.

"Yeah, there was a genie involved and it was this whole mess." Phoebe explained. She stood and went to the book. Paige stumbled on a page for a warlock named Zenic. " I think you found him." She said to her sisters. There was a picture on the page of a warlock with brown hair and very fair skin. It was hard to see his features outside in the darkness of the night sky, but his face looked similar.

"It says that he's lived for centuries and takes pleasure in killing young witches before they can learn the craft." Paige read aloud. "Alyson's not exactly young and neither is her mother."

"She could be new to the craft." Piper said.

"It also says that he's even been known to turn a few witches into warlocks." Phoebe added in. "Apparently, he has a lot of powers, most unknown."

"But he can be vanquished with an upper level potion." Paige said.

"I guess I'll head to the kitchen and get started." Piper replied with a sigh. She rose from the couch and went for the stairs.

"I think I should go to the hospital and see if Alyson's Mom is ok. Maybe Alyson will be there and I can talk to her about everything." Phoebe said.

"That's a good idea. We should get the kids home so they can get to bed. Henry's getting them up early tomorrow and taking them out on his friends boat for a few hours." Paige replied.

"Yeah, I should get the girls home." Phoebe said. Her and Paige followed Piper downstairs so they could rally up their families.

Phoebe drove Coop and the girls home, dropping them off before she headed to the hospital. San Francisco General Hospital was the closest to the manor and she assumed that was where Alyson's mother was taken. When she arrived and asked around, she found Alyson sitting in a chair, her head in her hands as tears streamed from her eyes.

"Alyson?" Phoebe questioned.

Alyson looked up and wiped a way a few tears. "Phoebe, what are you doing here?" She asked.

"I was at my sisters house and saw them taking your mother away in an ambulance. The police think it was a burglary gone bad." Phoebe answered. "Is she ok?"

She shook her head, trying to fight a few sobs. "She didn't make it." Alyson replied. "She was burned really bad. It doesn't make any sense. The police said there was no evidence of a fire at the house whatsoever." She continued to cry.

Phoebe sat next to her and placed an arm around her, trying to console her. "I'm so sorry, Alyson." She waited a moment and continued. "I know this is hard for you, but I need to ask you something."

"What? What is it?" Alyson replied.

"You're daughter told Peyton that you were casting spells, that you're a witch." Phoebe said.

Alyson cut her off before she could even ask any questions. "That's absurd."

"If you're a witch, you can tell me because I'm a witch too and so are my sisters." Phoebe explained. "And I think a warlock attacked your mother."

"A what?" Alyson asked. She stood, backing away from Phoebe. "You're crazy."

"Alyson, listen to me." Phoebe pleaded. "He killed your mother and he could be after you too. You're not alone. I'm a witch too."

"No, I'm not a witch." She argued. "All I did was try a few spells. I didn't expect them to work, but they did."

"That doesn't make any sense." Phoebe said. "If you're not a witch, you shouldn't be able to cast spells."

"I don't know." Alyson replied. "This is all just too much."

"It's ok." Phoebe assured her. She stood and embraced Alyson, letting her cry on her shoulder. "It's all going to be ok."

* * *

I wish I could add photos to my story. I have a bos page that I made about Zenic that I wish I could share with you all. The sisters now know about Alyson's use of spells and it's lead to dire consequences for her. Anyways, more to be posted in the next few days. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Charmed or any of it's characters.

Alyson lost her mother, but now Phoebe and her sisters are out to help her. Here's the next update...enjoy!

**CHAPTER 5**

"Here's the book." Alyson said, holding it out to Phoebe. It was nearly morning now, the sun trying to seep through the blinds of her new apartment. "I never meant to hurt anyone. I didn't think these spells would even work and then I won the lottery and got that raise at work. It was all just so tempting, so I did another and that's when my ex and his slutty secretary split up. It was like the ultimate revenge, but I didn't know how it was even possible."

"Ok, we're going to reverse all of these spells. You're going to tell me each one that you have done and we're going to fix this." Phoebe explained.

"Is that going to stop the warlock from trying to attack me?" Alyson asked. "Is that going to bring my mother back?"

"Unfortunately, I can't bring her back." Phoebe answered. "Reversing these spells won't stop the warlock, but there are certain rules with magic. You can't use spells for you own benefit. My sisters and I have been guilty of that a few times and each spell had some kind of backfire. It's wrong to take advantage of magic like this."

"Look, I don't know anything about magic." Alyson said innocently.

"I know, but you wouldn't be able to cast theses spells if you weren't a witch and there are rules to being a witch." Phoebe explained. "Is Alex with her father?"

"Yes." She answered. "I took her to her Dad's when I went to the hospital."

"Good, you need to come back to the manor with me so we can undo these spells and figure out why the warlock is after you." Phoebe said. "She should be safe with her Dad."

Wyatt orbed into the manor with Chris at his side. Piper sat on the couch before them in the living room. "What did you find out about Alyson?" She asked them.

Chris rolled his eyes. "We aren't your personal white lighters" and that was his answer.

"You know, you were just as much a pain in the ass in this life as you were in your previous life." Piper replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked back.

"Nothing, will one of you just tell me what they said?" She demanded.

Wyatt answered this time. "They said that Alyson is definitely a witch. Her mother was a witch, but she renounced her powers after her brother was killed. She thought he died because of her magic. When she had Alyson, she thought she had striped her powers, but she must have only used a simple binding potion." He explained.

"And the potion must have worn off after all these years." Chris added in.

"Well, that explains why she can cast spells." Piper replied.

"Piper!" Phoebe yelled as she and Alyson entered the manor. She walked back to the living room carrying Pearl's book of magic in her hand. "What did the Elders say about Alyson?"

"They confirmed that she..." Piper glanced at Alyson. "that you are a witch. I'll let Wyatt explain."

Everyone's eyes turned to Wyatt and he explained again. "The Elders said your mother was a witch, but when her brother died, she thought it was because of her magic. So, she renounced all of her powers and when you were born, bound yours so you could never use or access them. They think the binding wore off and that's why you can suddenly cast spells. You're tapping into your powers."

"Wait." Alyson put her hands out in protest. "You're saying my mother was a witch?"

"It seems so." Piper replied. "The Elders wouldn't lie about something like this."

"And who are these Elders?" She asked back.

"That's a long story." Phoebe said. She looked at Piper. "Why don't you take her up to the attic and find one of our reversal spells."

"Ok." Piper replied, taking Pearl's book from her. She led Alyson up the stairs. "Come with me."

Phoebe glanced at the boys. "Can one of you orb me to her mom's place?" She asked. "I noticed it was still roped off with police tape."

"Paige was already over there, trying to find something the warlock might have left to scry with." Chris answered.

"Well, maybe I can get a premonition." She thought.

"Ok, I'll take you." Chris offered.

"Thanks." Phoebe reached out for him as he began to turn into blue orbs. They floated up through the manor and before she knew it, they were reforming in the house down the street.

Some light shed in through the windows, showing how tore up the home was. Furniture was overturned and papers were strewn about the floor. Someone was definitely looking for something. Maybe Alyson's mother wasn't an intended victim, maybe she had just gotten in the way. "Definitely looks like a robbery." Chris said.

"Yeah, which means the warlock might not have been after anyone, but after some thing instead." Phoebe replied. She rummaged through a few things.

"But what?" Chris asked. "Alyson and her mom went years without demons or warlocks attacking, at least as far as we know. So what could either of them have that they want all of a sudden."

"I think I might know." Phoebe said. She immediately thought about Pearl's magic book. That had to be what the warlock was looking for, but why? She reached for a picture of Alyson, Alex, and Mark. Her body went stiff instantly as she was pulled into the world of her premonitions. In a haze, Phoebe saw a door with the number 2b being blasted open by someone or something. She saw Alex on a couch screaming as the warlock Zenic reached for her. Mark came out from another room and was blasted with fire. A clock on a nearby table read 10:16 before Mark's burnt body crashed into it.

"Phoebe?" Chris questioned. He knew by her stance and blank expression, that she had been drawn into a premonition. He had seen it many times before.

Phoebe pulled free from her vision and glanced at her watch. She held the picture out to Chris. "Can you try and sense Alex?" She asked. "We don't have time to get help, we need to get to her now."

"Well, I..." Chris took the picture. He starred at Alex for a moment and closed his eyes, focusing on the world around him. Chris could sense family quite easily, but he wasn't used to sensing others. He wasn't sure he could do it on a wide scale like most white lighters could.

"Anytime would be great." Phoebe said, trying to rush her nephew.

He sighed and opened his eyes. "I'm trying to concentrate here." He closed them again and focused. After a few moments, he reached out for his Aunt and they both orbed across town.

They arrived just in time for Chris to react with his telekinesis. They had formed in the path of a fire stream and with a flick of his hand, it went to the left, heading for a small hallway in the apartment.

"What the hell?" Mark yelled out of fear and surprise. He starred in awe at the two who had seemingly formed before his very eyes. He went ignored as Phoebe levitated and went in for a kick, knocking Zenic off his feet temporarily. Chris moved towards Alex, who was frozen in terror on the couch.

Zenic made it back to his feet and waved his hand at Phoebe. She was forced back via his own telekinesis, crashing into Mark. He turned to Chris and Alex.

"Time to go." Chris said. He touched Alex and they orbed over to Phoebe and Mark. Chris reached for Phoebe, who was trying to get off of Mark, and orbed away with them all.

They all reappeared in the foyer of the manor. Mark pushed away from them. "Wh...wh...I..." He was speechless. He had no idea what was going on.

"How did we get here?" Alex asked. She felt a little dizzy from orbing, since she had never done it before. "Who was that scarey guy?"

"Uh...he was..." Chris wasn't sure how to explain things. "Phoebe?"

"Oh right." She replied. They probably wanted an explanation. "He was a warlock and we're witches who are trying to help you."

"This is ridiculous." Mark said hastily. "Did Alyson put you up to this, it's just the kind of joke she would come up with?"

"No, Alyson didn't put us up to anything." Phoebe explained. "We're trying to help her too."

"No, this is..." Mark tried to argue.

"Dad." Alex cut in. "Something tried to kill us. I don't think anyone is joking."

"You're daughter is right." Chris said to Mark. "This is no joke. We are seriously witches and we're trying to help your family."

Phoebe eyed Chris. "Can you stay with them? I have to go see how it's going in the attic." She didn't plan on waiting for an answer as she took to the stairs.

She made her way up and through the hall to the attic stairs. She walked into the attic and saw Alyson standing in awe before the book of shadows as it sat on it's podium. Paige was writing something down on paper from Pearl's book as Piper stood, watching over her shoulder. "Hey, how's it going?" Phoebe asked.

Paige sort of nodded her head. "Would be better if I had gotten any sleep. Had to help a charge last night and this morning." She said.

"What took you so long?" Piper asked Phoebe.

"I had a premonition of the warlock trying to attack Alex and Mark." Phoebe explained.

"What?" Alyson seemed to lash out.

"Don't worry, they're ok." Phoebe tried to assure her. "We were able to get to them just in time. They're downstairs with Chris."

"I have to make sure Alex is ok." She tried to push passed Phoebe.

"Alex is fine." Phoebe said. "We need to focus on reversing those spells you cast."

"I've written all the spells down she's cast." Paige held up a few small papers.

Piper lit a candle. "Candle's ready." She said.

"So what do I have to do?" Alyson asked.

"Just read the spell and burn the papers in the flame." Paige explained.

"That should reverse all the spells you've done." Piper added in.

Alyson took in a deep breath and reached for the papers that Paige held. She glanced down on a paper that had a spell written on it from the book of shadows. "Guided spirits, hear my plea. Annul this magic, please let it be." She reached the papers into the flame of the candle, letting them burn. "So that's it?"

"Pretty much." Paige replied.

"It's just a matter of time before you'll know if it worked or not." Phoebe added in. "The spell's worked fine in the past."

"I need to check on Alex." Alyson said.

"That's fine, but don't go anywhere. We still have to vanquish the warlock." Phoebe replied.

Alyson walked off, leaving the sisters alone to talk. "Well, the potion is all ready for the warlock. We just have to find him." Piper said.

"I tried to find something at the house to scry for him with, but I didn't find a thing." Paige added in.

"When Chris and I were there, it definitely seemed like a robbery gone bad." Phoebe explained. "I'm not so sure the warlock actually went there to kill anyone. I think maybe he was looking for something and her mother got in the way."

"But what could he have been looking for?" Paige asked curiously.

"I think he might have been after Pearl's book of magic." Phoebe answered.

"You think he wanted a spell or something in it?" Piper asked.

"Or something." Paige replied. "It's not just a spell book, it also seems to be a journal."

Phoebe reached for the book, turning to one of the pages. She read the first entry aloud. "December 28, 1923. I am Pearl Russel, a witch born of the Warren bloodline. Like my ancestors before me, I have learned to embrace magic. Unlike my ancestors, I have fully embraced magic and all that is has to offer, not limiting myself or my powers in any way. Magic can be very useful, not just for helping others as my ancestors have done. I don't see why I can't use it for my own gain. For that reason, I start my own book of spells, potions, and rituals."

"Well, we already knew that she used her powers for her own means." Piper said.

Phoebe skipped over a page to call a dark goddess. She knew Pearl was evil, but she never thought she would use such a dark spell. She turned to the next journal entry. "January 1, 1924. My two cousins are the only family that I am close with. They are Warren witches as well, but they don't agree with how I have chosen to use my magic. They are slaves to their powers, only using them to serve the greater good, but I am free. They say that I should be using my powers to help others, not to help myself. I help others, but I do so for a price. I provide a specific clientele with a variety of potions and will even perform spells to suite their needs. My casual use of magic is slowly pulling my cousins and I away from one another, but they should accept me as I am. If they can not accept me, I just may become their enemy."

"So what, Pearl sold potions and spells?" Paige asked.

"I guess." Phoebe said. "There are some dark spells in here...One to invoke nightmares in others and one to curse an object. She talks about her growing love with Anton. There's a page here about the protection necklace that Anton gave her." She flipped to another page and held it out to Piper. "This is a spell from our book."

"To Separate a Witch From Her Powers." Piper read as she took the book. Piper flipped to the next page and read some to herself. "Apparently Anton convinced her to use this spell to take her cousins powers. Her cousins had help from someone named..." Piper paused, her mouth gaped open in shock.

"What, who?" Phoebe asked.

"Cole." Piper answered.

"Wait, you're kidding right?" Phoebe snatched the book from Piper and read part of the entry. "A man named Cole was fighting at their side. He claimed to be a witch, but his powers seemed to be demonic. Anton informed me later that he was actually a demon who worked for the Source of All Evil."

"So, Cole knew our ancestors?" Paige asked..

"It sure seems that way." Piper replied.

"But why did he help them?" Paige wondered.

"He wanted their powers as his own. Says so in the next entry." Phoebe answered. She flipped a few more pages ahead in the book. "Anton proposed to Pearl." She held out the book, showing a journal entry with a drawing of a ring that had a yellow diamond set in it. "He proposed on Valentines Day."

"Oh how romantic." Piper said sarcastically.

"There's a spell in here to vanquish a Warren witch." Phoebe showed them the book again. She didn't want to risk saying the spell out loud. Her finger pointed right to it.

"Why would she have this?" Paige asked. "Would she really use this on her cousins? I mean, someone could have easily taken this spell and used it on her."

"Maybe that's it." Phoebe said. "Maybe that's why the warlock wants this book, for the spell."

"So, he's been after us the whole time?" Piper asked. She wasn't very surprised. Demons were always after them.

* * *

The next update will be posted either tomorrow of the next day. Let me know your thoughts so far. Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Charmed or any of it's characters.

This chapter is a little shorter than the others, sorry.

**CHAPTER 6**

Zenic blinked into the Underworld. He found his warlock pal. "The Charmed Ones are onto me now. They're the whole reason why I want that damn spell." He said angrily.

"Maybe there's another way you can kill them." The warlock replied.

"Other demons have tried numerous ways and they've all failed. I will not fail." Zenic nearly shouted. "I've taken out all of my other enemies, including all of Anton's family." After he turned Anton against his family and against the side of good, his family swore they would find Zenic and kill him for what he had done. Zenic wasn't about to let that happen, so he found other demons and had them attack Anton's family. He even killed a few members himself.

"Well, I think Anton's family was the least of your worries. Now you have the Charmed Ones after you." He replied. "They'll be ready for you to attack again."

"Do you really think I don't know that?" Zenic snapped.

"Right, I'm sorry." The warlock said.

"You need to go after the spell. I can't risk it, but they won't recognize you." Zenic replied.

"But they'll surely..." He tried to argue.

Zenic cut in. "You'll go after that spell. I will not let you argue your way out of it." He said.

The warlock blinked out, not sure he was ready to take on the Charmed Ones. He was certain they would kill him. He didn't realize that Zenic just wanted to use him as a distraction.

Wyatt stepped into the Manor as the warlock formed in front of him. He had been out trying to fish the morning paper out of the bushes for his Dad and didn't waste time asking questions. He flicked his hand out and the warlock turned to flames, leaving a pile of ash on the floor. Chris walked out from the conservatory. "Is something burning?" He asked as he took in the smell of burning warlock. He stopped at the pile of ashes on the floor.

"I hope that was the warlock from yesterday." Wyatt replied.

"We're never that lucky." Chris said. "I'm sure he's still out there."

"Was something burning." Piper asked from the stairs.

"Just a warlock." Wyatt answered. "Probably not the one from last night."

Paige and Phoebe came down behind Piper. "What's going on?" They both asked.

"Nothing that helps us." Piper replied. Her eyes turned to Chris. "Are Alyson, Mark, and Alex still here?"

"Yeah, they're in the other room watching tv." Chris answered.

Zenic formed in the attic of the manor, content that the sisters had left the book alone. He reached for it, not realizing how close it was to the Charmed book of shadows. His arm grazed the book of shadows for a mere second and it lurched away from him, crashing on the floor.

"Did you hear something?" Paige asked her sisters. Instead of waiting for an answer, she orbed up to the attic and saw the book on the floor. Her eyes looked up to Zenic as he blinked out with Pearl's book of magic in his hand.

Piper and Phoebe made their way to the attic. "What is it?" Piper asked.

"The warlock got away with Pearl's book." Paige informed them.

Phoebe's eyes grew wide in fear. "That can't be good." She said.

"Ya think." Paige replied.

"Ok, so how do we get it..." Piper glanced at Paige, who seemed to be focusing her attention on something else. "Paige?"

"One of my charges, she's screaming out all of a sudden." Paige refocused on Piper. "I have to get to her."

"Wait, it could be a trap." Phoebe said.

Paige didn't wait. She couldn't let her charge die. She orbed out as quickly as she could, reforming in an alley behind the business where this charge of hers worked. Zenic stood before her, holding her charge by the neck. He let go and her limp body fell to the ground. She was dead.

"A trap." Paige mumbled to herself. She should have listened to her sisters.

Zenic smiled as Pearl's book formed in his hand. He began to read a spell. "Powers of evil I call to light, whether it be wrong or it be right. Warren witch you are cast from this fight, Your life shall cease on this endless night."

Paige froze for a moment. She felt her heart take one last beat, her lungs take one last breath. Her body slumped to the ground, her eyes taking in one last look at the afternoon sky before everything around her went black.

With a start, Paige's eyes burst open again. She was standing, starring in front of her. The warlock was gone, but the corpse of his victim still remained. She thought he had killed her too, but maybe she was wrong. She took a step forward and on instinct, turned around. "This is not good." She said as she starred at her own corpse on the ground.

Paige had had some experience in the past as a ghost. She knew that if she focused, she could wisp to the manor and hopefully get her sisters or nephews to orb to her body before any police could find it and take it to the coroners office. She couldn't risk losing her body, so she thought hard and focused on wisping.

"Hey wait." Someone shouted as Paige's ghostly form disappeared. A young man ran towards her body, completely ignoring the other corpse. He ran a hand through his tousled brown hair in frustration. He was hoping to ask her about Zenic and how it was she knew him. He had scryed for the warlock and traced him to the alley. By the time he got there, all that was left was a ghost of someone he didn't recognize. "She'll probably come back for this." He mumbled to himself as his hand reached down, touching the body. He faded out, taking it with him to his apartment. He left the body lying on his couch.

"Uh guys." Paige said from behind Phoebe and Piper.

Both sisters whipped around. The sun blaring in from the attic windows barely allowed them to make out the ghostly form of Paige. "What happened?" Piper demanded to know.

"It was a trap." Paige replied.

"I told you." Phoebe cut in.

Paige put a hand on her hip. "I know, I know. I couldn't just let my charge die." She explained. "Zenic killed her anyways and then he used a spell on me, the one from Pearl's book. I need Wyatt or Chris to orb and get my body for me, before someone finds it."

"But how are we supposed to get you in your body? You're dead." Piper said.

"Yeah, but if I was meant to die today, why haven't I moved on?" Paige asked.

"She's got a point." Phoebe replied.

Wyatt followed his aunt's ghost, orbing into the alley. "So, where's your body?" He asked. Sadly, that was not the first time he's had to ask a family member that.

Paige's pale form stood perplexed as she starred at the ground. "It was right here." She looked around and pointed. "That's my charge there and my body wasn't that far from her."

"Well, it's not here. You don't think the warlock would have taken it do you?" Wyatt asked.

Paige shook her head. "I doubt it. He was long gone when my spirit formed next to my body."

"Maybe Mom can scry for it." Wyatt suggested.

"I don't know if it will work with me being dead and all." She replied.

"I had a feeling you'd come back for your body." A young man said from behind them. On instinct, Wyatt whipped around with his hand ready. The man was more than prepared. He faded out and back in, appearing behind Wyatt.

"It's ok, I'm not here to hurt you." He tried to assure the witch and ghost.

"Says the man who clearly stole my body." Paige said.

Wyatt whipped around again. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't vanquish you?" He asked, standing firm and ready to act if needed.

"Well for one, you need her body back and also, I'm a witch." He explained to Wyatt. "I was tracing a warlock and ended up in this alley just in time to see her ghost floating away."

"Why did you take my body?" Paige demanded to know.

"Because I knew you would be back for it and I wasn't sure if the police would be coming or not." He answered.

Paige put her hands out. "Ok, who are you?" She asked.

"My name's Riley." He answered. He ran a hand through his brown hair, which was always a habit of his. His grey eyes reminded Paige of a wolf. "I'm after Zenic. He turned one of my ancestors against our family and made him a warlock. Then, he sought out and killed most of my ancestors."

"And how do you know he did all of that?" Wyatt asked.

"Because my ancestors wrote about it in our book of shadows. When my Great Grandmother was a child, her Uncle Anton was turned by Zenic. He convinced him to use his magic for evil means." Riley explained.

"Did you say Anton?" Paige asked.

An older woman glanced down the alley. "Oh my god." She screamed and pointed. "There's a body."

"Time to go." Riley said. He reached for Wyatt and faded out with him.

"Wait for me." Paige replied as she wisped after them.

* * *

So, I've made up a little back history on Anton. We didn't really get much on the show aside from strictly what was in Pardon My Past. I've had to come up with a lot of random info to make this story work...lol. Let me know your thoughts so far. Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Charmed or any of it's characters.

Thank you for the reviews. I will warn you, this chapter isn't very action packed, but it is important to the story none the less. Enjoy!

**CHAPTER 7**

"Where are we?" Wyatt asked as they formed into what he assumed was an apartment. All the blinds seemed to be closed and there wasn't a single light on. The darkness was quite eery to him.

"My apartment." Riley explained. "Let me get a light." He moved forward a few steps and flipped a switch.

Paige's ghost appeared behind them. "Hey, that's my body." She cried as she pointed to the couch.

"How did Zenic manage to kill you?" Riley asked her. "I didn't see any wounds on your body."

"He used a spell." Paige explained. "Apparently, it was written by Anton specifically to kill members of our family."

"Wait, you're a Warren witch?" Riley seemed surprised.

"We both are." Wyatt replied.

"I take it you know of the spell?" Paige asked.

Riley shook his head. "Yeah, it was written by my ancestors originally to stop Anton." He explained. "Zenic not only made him a warlock, but he turned Anton against his own family. Anton started killing innocent witches and mortals because that's what Zenic told him to do. Anton fell in love with a Warren witch who seemed to be just as evil. So the spell was tweaked a little so it could work for her as well. My ancestors were worried that the two of them would come after them and that even Zenic would come after them."

"You said that Zenic slaughtered your family right?" Wyatt asked.

"Well, Zenic killed some of my family ancestors, he had various demons kill the rest of them." He answered. "My family has documentation of everything. They missed one Ancestor and if it weren't for that, I wouldn't be here."

"Ok, if your family wrote this spell, how did Anton get a hold of it? He gave it to his lover, our ancestor, and now Zenic has it." Paige said.

"According to what my ancestors documented, he stole that spell and a bunch of others with it." Riley replied.

"Ok, but how does any of this help us fix you, Aunt Paige?" Wyatt asked.

"I don't know that it does." She replied.

Riley walked over to a book shelf. He pulled out an old black leather book and opened to a page he had book marked somewhere in the middle of the book. "According to my ancestors, to reverse the spell of death, the caster of said spell must be eliminated within twenty-four hours of the spell being cast." He said.

At the manor, Piper and Phoebe anxiously awaited Paige and Wyatt's return. How long did it take to retrieve one measly body? "They should be back by now." Piper said in her usual tone of worry.

"Mom..." Chris yelled from the conservatory.

Piper and Phoebe walked from the kitchen, meeting him in the dining room. "What is it?" Piper asked.

"Mark's getting agitated in there. He wants to know when he can leave." Chris explained.

"Well, he can't leave. None of them can." Phoebe said. "We still have to vanquish the warlock."

"I know, but he doesn't understand." Chris replied in frustration.

"They can't keep us here." Mark yelled in the conservatory to Alyson. "I'm leaving."

"Oh no you don't." Piper took a few steps into the room, eying Mark with her hands. With one quick motion of her hands, he froze mid-step.

"Wh...What did you do to him?" Alyson stuttered. Alex stood in front of her father, waving a hand in his face and he didn't move at all.

"I froze him." Piper said as if Alyson would understand.

"We can't let any of you leave yet." Phoebe explained. "We think the warlock may have just been after that book you found, but we can't be certain and we don't want to let you leave here unprotected."

Alyson saw what Alex was doing and snapped. "Stop doing that," and then added in a softer tone, "please." She was frustrated because of all that was happening, frustrated because of her life, because of magic, because of the warlock that had killed her mother...and it was clearly showing.

"Sorry, Mom." She answered. She walked back to her seat on the couch. "I wish I could do things like freeze people."

"And sometimes we wish we were just normal people." Phoebe said as she sat next to her. "Having powers comes with a big responsibility."

"But isn't it fun being a witch?" Alex asked curiously.

"Well, we can't really have a lot of fun with our powers. They were given to us so we could help people." She explained. "And it feels good to help people."

"So, you can't do anything cool with your powers?" Alex asked with a tone of disappointment.

"Enough with the questions." Alyson butted in. "They have enough to deal with right now and don't need the hassle of answering your questions."

"It's ok." Piper said. "She's just curious and you can't blame her for that."

Wyatt walked in behind them. "Hey Mom, Paige and Riley are in the attic and they need to speak to you and Phoebe." He said.

Piper whirled around. "Paige and who?" She asked.

"Who's Riley?" Phoebe asked.

"He's the one that had Paige's body." Wyatt replied.

"Wait, what?" Phoebe said in total confusion. She followed Piper up to the attic, hoping to get some answers.

Paige stood firm in her ghostly form with a face of hard concentration. Her body lay before her on the couch in the attic. Riley looked at her and thought it might have been a face of someone with constipation. "What are you doing, what's with that face?" He asked.

"I thought that maybe if I concentrated hard enough, I could maybe will myself back into my body." She replied. It clearly wasn't working.

"Well you look like you're constipated." He replied.

"Ok, what's going on?" Piper asked as she entered and approached the couch where Paige's body was. Phoebe entered right behind her.

"Piper!" Paige replied and then let out a sigh. "We had a little problem getting my body back."

"I see." Piper said, though she didn't really understand what had happened and she certainly didn't recognize the man standing with Paige.

Phoebe saw Riley and froze for a moment, her power of empathy working in the back of her mind. She felt a strong connection to him, but couldn't place what it was. She also felt a strong feeling of determination from him as she gazed into his gray eyes. "Who is this?" She asked.

"This is Riley." Paige replied, introducing him to her sisters. "Riley, this is Phoebe and Piper."

"You look so much like Pearl." He said as he took in the features on Phoebe's face. Her eyes looked just like Pearls, but it was what was behind the eyes that made all the difference. When he gazed at an old picture of Pearl in his family book of shadows, he could see so much darkness in her eyes, but not with Phoebe. Phoebe's eyes were a portal to goodness and light.

"Well, she is my past life." Phoebe replied.

"I don't understand, just who exactly are you?" Piper asked curiously.

"I'm an ancestor of Anton's, who was a lover to one of your ancestors." He explained. "I was after the warlock, Zenic, when I saw Paige floating away from her body in the alley."

That's why Riley felt so familiar to Phoebe. He was a descendant of Anton, the warlock who was lover to her past life. Riley didn't really seem to resemble Anton, in fact, she thought he was a bit more attractive. He looked like he had a dark side, but his eyes said other wise. She could see goodness in them and courage and determination. She could sense that he really wanted to kill Zenic and that the reasons were more personal then just the fact of Zenic being evil.

"He says I have twenty-four hours to kill Zenic and that's the only way I can get back into my body." Paige also explained. "His family ancestors were the ones that originally wrote the spell, but that's a whole other story that would take too long to explain."

"I was hoping to stop Zenic before the coronation under the next full moon." Riley said.

"Coronation?" Paige asked.

"I sought a few other demons, hoping they could lead me to Zenic and got some information out of them." He explained. "They said I wouldn't be able to stop him once he became the next Source and that I only had until the next full moon to stop him."

"The Source, as in the Source of All Evil?" Piper asked rhetorically. "Isn't that just great."

"The next full moon is only a few nights away." Phoebe replied.

"No, it's actually tomorrow night." Riley informed them.

"Oh my god, you're right." Phoebe said in dismay. They didn't have a lot of time to stop Zenic. As far as she knew, the evil Grimoire was hidden away by Leo and it contained the coronation ceremony. Of course, they could have written a new ceremony. Then again, they didn't necessarily need a ceremony either.

* * *

So, Zenic wants to be the Source. Riley is a descendant of Anton, which could make things interesting. You'll have to wait and see. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Charmed or any of it's characters.

Thank you for the great reviews. The Charmed Ones try to take on Zenic...

**CHAPTER 8**

"Ok, anyone have any ideas on how to stop Zenic?" Paige asked. Her ghostly form was pacing the attic as her sisters and Riley contemplated what their next move was. "I'd really like to get back into my body."

"We could summon some random demons and see if they know where the coronation will be held." Phoebe suggested.

"Can't you just make a spell to summon Zenic?" Riley asked. "You are the Charmed ones aren't you?"

Phoebe took offense to his comment, but tried not to show it. "We could try something, but depending on how powerful he is it may not work."

"Give me some paper and I'll come up with something." Paige replied. She reached for a pen on the table in front of her and her hand went straight through it. "Ok, maybe someone else will have to write it. How did you find Zenic, Riley?"

He ran his hand through his hair before answering. "I scryed for him using a crystal and map, but it wasn't him I was scrying for specifically. I was scrying for evil, hoping I would find him." He explained.

"Well, I guess that doesn't help us." Paige said in disappointment, her ghostly hands rested on her hips.

"If he's in the Underworld, we can't scry for him anyways." Phoebe added in. "I may have a spell we can summon him with." She reached for a pad of paper and pen, writing it down.

"I'll get the crystal cage set up." Piper replied. She walked over to a box, pulling the crystals out.

Phoebe glanced at Riley. "You should go downstairs. We can't risk putting you in harms way." She said to him.

"Hey, I can take care of myself. I'll be fine." He replied, feeling somewhat insulted.

"It's going to take the power of three to summon him, but I'm not technically alive. So, how are we going to do this?" Paige asked curiously.

"We can ask Wyatt or Chris to help us." Piper said. She hated the thought of her boys being in harms way, but it wasn't as if they hadn't fought demons and warlocks before. They both had a fairly normal childhood. It wasn't until they got older, that the demon attacks became more frequent. Piper called out, "Hey, Wyatt."

Not a minute later, Wyatt walked into the attic. "What is it?" He asked.

"We need you to read a spell with us. We're going to summon the warlock Zenic." Piper explained. She held out a bottle. "I've already got the potion ready."

Phoebe held out the spell so her, Piper, and Wyatt could see it. She reworded the last line of the spell so that it would work with Wyatt. They stood before the circle of crystals on the floor. They each read together. "Warlock Zenic we summon thee, from wherever you may be, come to us, we witches three. "

The crystals glowed for a moment as a figure formed within them. Zenic gazed around frantically, wondering where he was. His eyes saw a potion bottle coming at him and he reacted quickly, catching it mid air.

Piper stood in shock, not sure she could believe what she had just seen. She never expected the warlock to catch the potion. "You can't vanquish me." He said sternly, throwing the potion aside. It crashed to the floor several feet away from all of them. He put a hand up and a wave of energy blasted right through the crystal cage, sending crystals in each direction. The energy crashed into Phoebe, Piper, and Wyatt, forcing them to the ground. Books and papers went flying in every direction as well.

Riley's eyes searched for more potion bottles, hoping Piper had more than just the one vanquishing potion. He didn't see any. His main power was the ability to fade from place to place. In the same way he faded he could in a sense fade objects to and from him, much like those with telekinetic orbing. He saw a dagger a few feet away and faded it into his hand. He threw it at Zenic, striking him in the shoulder.

Zenic whipped around and shot fireballs at Riley, ignoring the dagger in his shoulder. Riley jumped behind a chair, using it as a shield. Zenic saw Paige's body on the couch and aimed for that instead. "No!" Paige shouted.

Wyatt reacted, orbing to her body. He placed a hand on it and a blue shield formed around himself and the couch with her body. The fireballs blasted right off of it, flying back towards the warlock.

Phoebe went in for a kick, knocking Zenic to the ground as Piper tried to rally up the crystals to place back around him. Zenic started chanting. "Powers of evil, I call to light..." He had the spell to vanquish a Warren witch already memorized.

Riley recognized the spell , as his family had written it, and ran out from behind his chair. He leaped onto Zenic and faded out with him before he could finish the spell and kill the rest of the Charmed Ones. They appeared out on the street. Zenic wrestled with Riley, trying to be free of him. He slammed Riley against the pavement, his head striking with a loud thud. He was out cold. Zenic smiled and blinked away with the body.

"What just happened here?" Wyatt asked. He dropped the shield he held around himself and Paige's body.

"I'm not really sure." Paige replied. "That spell he was trying to cast was the one he used to kill me."

"Yeah and apparently, Riley wasn't going to let him finish the spell." Phoebe added in.

"What are we going to do to get him back?" Wyatt asked.

"We?" Piper shot back.

"Yes, we." Wyatt replied. "You can't get rid of me now, I'm apart of this and I want to help."

In the Underworld, Zenic had Riley's body on an altar of sorts. He sat sideways in a red velvet chair as a demonic healer looked at his shoulder. Asorath had been a healer for many decades now. He served the original Source of Evil, though it was rare for any Source to need his services. Zenic wasn't the Source just yet and was still vulnerable. He rubbed a paste onto Zenic's shoulder wound. "What do you plan to do with the witch?" He asked.

"The witch is the only living relative of Anton, my best warlock." Zenic explained. "Anton was vanquished some time ago, but I can bring him back in this body and he can be my second in command once I am ruler of the Underworld."

Asorath finished with Zenic. "Your shoulder should not take long to heal now. I have patched it up well." He said.

"Good" Zenic replied. He walked over to the altar. On a shelf under the altar were some black candles and a book. He lit the candles one by one with a mere flick of a finger, placing each one of them on the corners of the altar. He opened the book to a certain page and began to read, "Spirit to Spirit, I call to thee, Anton warlock return to me, this body is my gift to you, enter it and be renewed." He repeated his spell a few times before a black essence formed over the body. It entered Riley's body swiftly.

Riley's eyes burst open. He took a deep breath as he gazed at his surroundings. "Where am I?" He asked. He noticed a familiar face. "Zenic?"

"Hello old friend." Zenic replied with a grin.

"How is this possible, I was vanquished?" He asked as he sat up and let his legs dangle over the side of the altar.

"I used a spell to bring your soul back." Zenic explained. "It required that the hosts body be a relative, so I found one. Well, he kind of fell into my lap."

"All of my relatives were killed." Anton said.

"All, but one and she was able to carry on and give life to future generations." Zenic replied. He conjured a mirror and handed it over to Anton. "Why don't you check out your new face."

Anton took the mirror hesitantly. He looked at his own reflection. "I suppose he doesn't look that bad." He set the mirror down. "Now explain why you've brought me back?"

So, Zenic explained. "I want you to work side by side with me in the Underworld. I want you to be my second in command as I become the next Source of Evil. We'll be the first warlocks to have control of this place."

Anton flashed one of his crooked smiles. "I like the sound of that." He replied.

* * *

I hope you don't mind Wyatt helping out, but he'll be involved for a little while. Don't worry, he's a late teen in this story, so it's not like I have a little kid fighting demons...lol. They had trouble stopping Zenic this time and now Anton is back. Next chapter to be posted in a couple of days. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Charmed or any of it's characters. **  
**

Thank you for the great reviews. Let's see if they can vanquish Zenic...

**CHAPTER 9**

Henry stormed into the manor, leaving the kids to wait in the car. "Paige!" He started yelling. It was nearly evening now and he hadn't heard from his wife all day. He called the manor only to find out from Chris that Paige was in spirit form. He called out again. "Paige!"

Paige whisped down to Henry from the attic. "Henry! What are you doing here?" She asked.

He stared in shock for a moment before answering. "I don't hear from you all day and then I call and find out from my nephew that you died today." He stammered. "Don't you think that's something you should have told me yourself?"

"Well, I plan to get back into my body." She replied with a hand on her hip.

"That's not the point." Henry shook his head in anger, but tried to keep his voice calm. "When something like this happens, I expect you to keep me informed on what's going on."

"I know and I'm sorry." Paige said. "It's just that..."

Piper stepped off the stairs. "Wyatt thought of a way to track Zenic and..." She stopped mid sentence. "Hi Henry."

"Hi Piper." He replied.

"Well, I think I'll leave you two alone. You can't really help us as a spirit anyways." Piper said to Paige.

"No, wait. I'm coming." Paige argued. She looked at Henry with regret in her eyes, regret for not telling him about what happened. "I'm sorry. I really need to be there to help. I'll come home as soon as I can."

Henry sighed. "You know I can't stay mad at you forever. Just come back to me and I mean in your physical form."

"I promise." She replied as she whisped back to the attic.

Piper went to the kitchen to fill more potion bottles with the potion to vanquish Zenic. Luckily, she had extra ready and waiting. Once filled, she took the bottles up to the attic with her and handed them out to each corporeal person in the room.

"So what's this idea to track Zenic?" Paige asked curiously.

"Spell is done." Phoebe said.

"I thought that we could use a spell to take us to Zenic instead of bringing him here, since that didn't work so well last time." Wyatt explained.

"Won't he be expecting that though?" Paige asked.

"Let's hope not." Phoebe replied. She held up the spell. "Are we ready?"

Piper sighed. "Ready as we'll ever be I guess." She said.

"Warlock Zenic, we seek to find. He who is lost in space and time. Take we witches three to wherever he may be." Phoebe, Wyatt, and Piper read aloud. A golden glow formed around them as they started to dissolve. Paige whisped away after them.

They appeared in a dark cavernous place. A few fire lit torches lined the walls. A demon approached them and Piper reacted, freezing him in his tracks. They heard voices speaking around the corner.

"Now Anton, we must prepare for the coronation ceremony tomorrow evening." They heard Zenic say.

"Did he just say Anton?" Phoebe asked in a whisper.

"Yeah, but I don't think he meant Anton as in your Anton." Piper whispered back.

Paige was clueless. "Huh?"

"Evil ex of a past life." Was Phoebe's explanation.

"I know that, but he was vanquished." Paige said.

Piper reached her hands around the corner, trying to freeze Zenic and Anton or whoever was in the room. It didn't work or so they assumed because they still heard voices, They decided to just charge in, hoping to catch them off guard. There were a few other demons in the room that froze and Zenic noticed right away. He readied himself for attack and actually caught the Halliwells off guard.

Blasts of fireballs came at them before they could even think about throwing any potions at anyone. Wyatt put up his shield protecting himself, his mother, and Aunts. As the fireballs continued, the shield weakened. Phoebe held up a potion, ready to throw and just as the shield dissolved, she let it fly.

Piper started blowing up the other random demons with her power before she realized that Riley was standing behind Zenic. She didn't see anyone that looked like Anton. Some demons remained unfrozen and one of them jumped in front of Zenic, protecting him from the potion thrown by Phoebe.

Anton saw Phoebe and immediately thought about Pearl. He wanted her more than ever and wondered if the spell Zenic had used to bring him back would work on Pearl as well.

Paige's spirit whisped into one of the demons. She began using his own energy balls to attack another demon so that Phoebe could fight her way to Riley. "Come on Riley, we have to go." She said.

Riley's eyes met Phoebe's and she could instantly see the lust in them. "Yes, we do." Riley replied. He grabbed Phoebe's hand tightly and tried to blink away with her. He was surprised when he faded out instead, as it wasn't one of his powers.

Wyatt held his mother back for a moment before standing firmly in place and reaching his hands out. A burst of energy came from his hands and crashed into the demons. Most were annihilated, turned into piles of dust. Piper wondered why Wyatt hadn't just done that in the first place, but it was one of his newer powers and he hadn't quite mastered it just yet. Zenic was thrown off his feet, but not vanquished with the rest of the evil bastards in the area.

"You can't vanquish me." Zenic sneered, an evil smile forming on his lips. He started to shimmer as he made his way back to his feet, but Paige was quick to react.

The demon she had whisped into turned to dust and as Zenic tried to shimmer, she whisped into him and fought his magical urges, keeping him in place. "I don't think so." She said sternly. She couldn't risk letting him go. She wanted desperately to get back into her body.

Piper threw her potion at Zenic, hoping to vanquish him and end his attempts at becoming the next Source of All Evil. The potion struck him and the vial shattered. That was Paige's cue to leave his body. Flames began to engulf him and he started screaming out as they crawled up his body. "Noooo!" He was finally vanquished.

They all took a look around, gazing at the remnants of the vanquished demons. Piper took a breath of relief, but her relief soon turned to panic as she realized Phoebe was no where to be seen. "Where's Phoebe?" She asked.

"Last I saw she was trying to save Riley." Paige replied. "I'm not..." She stopped mid sentence. Something was happening to her ghostly spirit. It was fading.

"Paige?" Wyatt asked curiously. She disappeared before their eyes.

"This can not be good." Piper said frantically.

"Maybe Paige went back to her body." Wyatt replied, trying to calm his mother. "We should go and check on her and then we can find Phoebe." Without waiting for a response, Wyatt took his mother's hand and orbed to the attic with her, which is where Paige's body rested on one of the old couches.

Paige heaved in and out with uneven breaths as her eyes burst open. She sat up slowly and glanced at Piper and Wyatt. "Please tell me I'm alive." She said.

"Yes, I'd say you are very much alive." Wyatt replied.

"What about Phoebe?" Piper asked. "You said she was trying to save Riley. So what happened to both of them?"

"Zenic was talking to someone named Anton, right? Phoebe said that was an ex lover or past ex lover." Wyatt explained and then asked his mother specifically. "Did you see this Anton when we went in for the attack?" He knew of Phoebe's past life, but hardly knew a thing about Anton.

Piper thought for a moment. "No, I didn't. I saw Riley and Zenic, but no one else I recognized."

"Isn't Riley a descendant of Anton though?" Paige asked.

"Yes." Piper answered.

"But what does that have to do with anything?" Wyatt added in.

Paige began to explain her theory. "When we summoned Zenic to the attic, he started to read the spell he had used on me in the alley. Riley stepped in and took off with him before he could finish the spell. I doubt Riley took him to the Underworld. Zenic must have overpowered him and took him to the Underworld. Riley claims that Zenic was the one to turn Anton against his family and against good magic. Maybe they were close, friends even. What if Zenic found a way to bring Anton back from the dead?"

"Is that even possible?" Wyatt asked.

"We've seen demons and warlocks come back before." Piper replied. "It's possible that Anton could have been brought back into Riley's body." She thought back to her high school reunion, when she herself had someone else in her body. It wasn't a pleasant experience and she hoped that wasn't the case for Riley.

"Do you think they are both still in the Underworld?" Wyatt asked. He let out a yawn, though he tried to hide it. It was late, nearly midnight now. The world was totally dark.

"Probably not. If Anton is back, he doesn't want to hurt Phoebe." Piper said. "That much I know."

Wyatt walked over to a table and pulled out a map and crystal. "Guess we should try scrying for her." He replied.

"I think her purse is downstairs. I can go and get something to scry with." Piper started to walk off.

"Wait, I can get it. I should go down and call Henry anyways, let him know I'm alive." Paige said.

Piper agreed. "Ok, you do that and I'll let Alyson know they can leave now. Zenic is gone, so there's no threat to them anymore. It's late and they probably want to just get to bed."

* * *

They stopped Zenic and saved Paige, but now they have to figure out what happened to Phoebe. I kind of made up a few tidbits about Anton, such as him being able to blink...even though he triggers Riley's power instead. We didn't see him blinnk in the show, but it could have been one of his powers. Plus, I needed a way for him to get out of the Underworld. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Charmed or any of it's characters.

Thanks for the reviews. This is kind of a shorter chapter, sorry. Let's see what Anton and Phoebe are up to...

**CHAPTER 10**

Riley and Phoebe formed in an old apartment. It was dark, but that didn't matter to him. He pushed Phoebe against the wall and reached in, forcing a kiss. She tried to push him away. "What is wrong with you Riley?" She asked.

"Riley isn't here any more." Anton replied. Phoebe tried to squirm away, but Anton's grasp became tighter and tighter. He reached a hand around her neck. "Maybe this will be better." He tried to focus on his glamouring power. Right before Phoebe's eyes, Riley's face transformed into Anton's. He thrust Phoebe aside, her body crashing into an unfinished wall. She was left unconscious.

Anton reached for a light switch to verify his surroundings. He was certain he had blinked or faded into his old apartment in Chinatown, but he was unaware of the construction that was happening there. It didn't resemble the place he had once called home while in it's renovated state.

He grumbled in anger as he faded out. He went back to the Underworld to retrieve Pearl Russel's magic book and to get Zenic's book as well, so he could use the spell to bring back Pearl's spirit into Phoebe's body. He grabbed a few of the candles also. Piper and Wyatt were too focused on what was happening to Paige's spirit and too focused on finding Phoebe. They were so focused that they didn't even think to grab Pearl's magic book.

Back at the apartment, as Phoebe was beginning to stir, Anton stood over her body. The candles were already lit. He held the book in his hand, opened to the spell he needed. "Spirit to Spirit, I call to thee, Pearl Russel return to me, this body is my gift to you, enter it and be renewed." He chanted.

"Wait, no." Phoebe protested. She tried to make it to her feet.

Anton repeated the spell and a black shadow started forming, aiming for Phoebe's body. Her body lurched back as the shadow entered it. Familiar eyes stared at Anton with love and lust behind them and he knew that Pearl was back. "My love?" He questioned.

Pearl smiled at him. "How is this possible?" She asked.

"It's a long story, but now we can pick up where we left off." He answered, smiling back. He reached for her hand, taking it gently. "First we make our love official and then, we take out your descendants so they can't send us back to hell." They both faded out.

Across town on a dark street corner, they both appeared. "I don't recall this being one of your powers." Pearl said to Anton, surprised that he didn't blink as he always had.

"This body is one of my descendants and I think I'm accessing not only my powers, but his as well. Once we kill your descendants, we'll have to be rid of the spirits that belong to these bodies." Anton replied. He gazed at his surroundings. "There used to be a store here that had wedding dresses. Of course, that was years ago."

"I remember, it was called Steins Bridal Shop." Pearl glanced across the street and pointed. "There it is, it's still here." It was an old store, a place passed on through many generations.

Anton smiled, taking her hand again. They faded into the shop and he watched as Pearl browsed the dresses.

Back at the manor Paige had informed Henry about everything that had happened. She explained that the warlock had been vanquished and that she was back in her body. She spoke about Phoebe and how they were now trying to find her before something serious could happen.

Piper woke Chris and let him head off to bed. He had been keeping Alyson, Alex, and Mark in the manor until the warlock could be taken care of. It was late and they had all fallen asleep. She woke the others and told them it was finally safe to leave. Mark was more than eager to leave. He didn't understand what was going on. He didn't believe in magic and warlocks. The whole day had been so strange to him.

Leo emerged from the kitchen. He had trouble sleeping when he knew his wife was out fighting evil. "Hey, you're back." He said to Piper.

"Yeah, but we have a situation." She replied to him.

"Is it the warlock?" Leo asked.

"Zenic was vanquished, but Anton is back or so we think and he has Phoebe." She explained. "Paige and Wyatt are upstairs scrying for her as we speak."

"But how?" Leo seemed confused. Anton had been vanquished years ago.

"It's complicated. I should go see if they found Phoebe." She reached in for a quick kiss and headed back up to the attic.

Wyatt let out a yawn as he watched Paige dangle the scrying crystal over a map. She held Phoebe's car keys with it. It dropped, finally revealing a location. "We got her." Paige declared.

Piper walked in. "Great, where is she?"

"Looks like she's down town." Paige answered.

"Ok, let's go." Wyatt said.

"No, no." Piper argued. "You've done enough and you have school in the morning. You need to get some sleep. We can handle this."

"But Mom..." Wyatt tried to argue back.

"No butts. I'm glad you want to help, but you need your sleep too. This isn't anything we haven't handled before." She explained.

Wyatt rolled his eyes in protest, but he knew better than to argue with his mother. "Ok, fine. Good night Mom, night Aunt Paige." He said before walking off to bed.

"Night." Paige and Piper both said in unison.

Piper faced Paige. "Let's go get Phoebe."

Paige took Piper's hand and orbed out, appearing on a street downtown. They both looked around. A flower shop stood at the corner next to them. "They were getting flowers at this time of the night?" Paige asked rhetorically.

Piper saw the wedding dress shop across the street. "I'm betting they were looking at wedding dresses." She pointed to the shop.

"Wait, are they going to try and get married?" Paige seemed a little grossed out at the thought. "Why would Anton want to marry Phoebe?"

"Maybe he found a way to bring Pearl back." Piper replied. "They could be trying to pick up where they left off."

Paige walked over to the shop and Piper followed. She peeked into one of the windows. "If they were here, they're long gone now. There's no one in there." She said.

"Well, they'll probably have to wait until morning to get married. No one around here to marry them at this time of night." Piper hoped to be right with her statement. If Anton could blink or transport himself somehow, there was nothing stopping them from heading to Vegas for a quickie wedding though.

Anton saw the two Charmed Ones appearing across the street from the bridal shop. He softly called out to Pearl. "I hope you have a dress picked. We have to go."

Pearl stepped out in a one strap tulle ball gown. It was ivory with a sweat heart neckline and beaded lace flowers that adorned the bodice and skirt. Parts of the gown seemed modern to her, while other parts reminded her of the elegance of her own fashion decade. "What do you think?" She asked, taking a twirl in her chosen dress.

"You're absolutely beautiful." He smiled and reached for her hand. They were both gone in an instance.

On the street, Paige had suggested they go back the manor and scry again for Phoebe. "No, wait." Piper said. "If they were in there..." She motioned to the bridal shop. "they may have been caught on tape. That means if anyone sees it and notices anything missing, they could come after Phoebe once we save her."

"Ok, I'll orb in and get the tapes." Paige replied.

* * *

Anton has found a way to bring Pearl back. Let's hope Piper and Paige can stop them before they can get married...lol. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Charmed or any of it's characters.

Thanks for the great reviews. Paige and Piper are on the quest to find Phoebe/Pearl and Riley/Anton. You'll see the return of an old face in this chapter.

**CHAPTER 11**

Brendan Rowe had just wandered to the church kitchen for a late night cup of tea. He was having trouble sleeping and struggling with a terrible cold. He had lived at the same church for nearly twelve years now as the head pastor. He took pride in his work and in helping those less fortunate then himself, but today he had spent most of the afternoon in bed.

The tea was soothing on his throat, but a noise caught his attention. He set his tea cup on the table and turned around, his eyes catching sight of a knife blade. It was the old floorboards of the church kitchen that gave Pearl and Anton away. They creaked with every step. "Don't move father, we need you to marry us now." Anton demanded.

Brendan took in a deep breath. He wasn't a father, but he wasn't about to argue with a crazed man who held a knife in his face. "Ok, ok. Do you want me to do it right here in the kitchen?" He asked.

"That wouldn't be romantic now would it?" Pearl asked rhetorically. "We'd prefer to be wed out in the chapel."

Brendan glanced at her dress. It looked expensive. "The chapel is back out the way you came, but if you don't have a marriage certificate your marriage won't be legal." He tried to explain.

"Just shut up and marry us." Anton reached for Brendan, yanking him from his chair. He forced him into the chapel with he and Pearl.

The woman looked familiar to Brendan. He had seen her before, known her from somewhere. "Aren't you Ask Phoebe?"

"We don't have time for questions." Anton insisted.

"You're related to Prue Halliwell aren't you?" He asked.

"Are you going to marry us or what?" Pearl asked back. Both she and Anton were getting impatient with him.

Brendan was a frequent reader of Phoebe's column, mainly because he read the paper every day and never missed a section in it. The news paper and coffee were part of his morning rituals, aside from his prayers. He remembered reading all about Phoebe's wedding in the paper years ago. Phoebe even wrote a book about finding love a year or two after getting married. The book was a huge hit. The biggest thing he remembered about Phoebe and the Halliwells was that they were witches. He himself had been a warlock and they had helped to save him from his ill fated evil destiny, to help him on the path of righteousness. He glanced at her finger and the ring confirmed what he thought.

"We prefer a quick ceremony, none of that dearly beloved nonsense." Anton said.

"Of course." Brendan replied, though it dawned on him that he didn't know the man's name. "Do you...what's your name?"

"Oh please, can we just get on with it." Pearl said, clearly annoyed.

"I don't think so." Piper replied from the back of the chapel. Paige stood next to her.

Everyone turned to face the pair. Pearl was not happy to have her wedding interrupted, especially by one her descendants. She recognized Piper, but not the other sister. In anger, she held her hand out and let her pyrokinesis strike. It went for Piper.

Piper's natural reaction was to freeze the flames and she did it none too quickly. It was so close that her and Paige could feel the heat from them.

Pearl wanted to strike again, but she felt something pulling inside of her, something trying to take over. It was the spirit that she was sharing her body with. Phoebe could sense and feel everything that was happening, everything that her body was doing. She could feel what Pearl was feeling because of her power of empathy. She was trying to be strong, to over power Pearl's spirit so she could help her sisters.

Pearl had access to Phoebe's powers because she was sharing the same body as Phoebe, just as Anton could access Riley's powers. With that power, she could feel the strong bond that Phoebe shared with her sisters. She could feel the strength between them. There was such power and power was always something she could never have enough of.

Piper and Paige moved around the frozen flames. They unfroze, striking the doors behind them. Anton thought Pearl would strike again, but was surprised when she halted herself and seemed to be in a bit of a struggle with herself. He took matters into his own hands. He whipped out the knife he had first used against Brendan, throwing it towards the sisters.

"Athame!" Paige called out. It orbed into her hand perfectly and she threw it back, aiming for Pearl. Over the years, she had gotten pretty good with knife throwing and wouldn't have risked aiming for Phoebe's body unless she were certain of where it would strike. She didn't want to kill Pearl or Phoebe, just injure them temporarily in hopes of being able to get Pearl's spirit out of Phoebe's body.

Anton stepped in front of Pearl, taking the knife himself. It struck his arm and forced him to wince for a moment in pain. He was over the pain quickly as he removed the knife, a crooked smile forming on his face. He went to throw it back, but Pearl stopped him, grabbing his arm. "Wait." She said. He looked at her in confusion. "They'll just send it back. You can't kill them."

"What?" He questioned.

"I can feel the power my host soul shares with them, there's so much. It's all we've ever wanted." She explained. "And it's stronger if they are alive."

Angered, Anton turned away from Pearl. He couldn't risk letting her descendants live. He knew they would try and send he and Pearl back to Hell. Hell was not a place he ever wished to return. It meant burning forever in the pits of torment, forced to be without his true love, without Pearl. He never wanted to be without her again. He ran towards Piper, knife ready to strike.

Piper thrust her hands out, hoping to freeze the warlock. He slowed for a few seconds, but forced his way through her powers grasp on him. Pearl could sense his determination, but couldn't risk losing the power she felt between the Charmed Ones. She was now being forced to chose between love and power, but power won out in the end.

"No." She shouted. Pearl pushed her hand out, flames flying towards her lover. Before he could reach Piper, Anton was engulfed in fire. His flesh began to burn as he fell to his knees. He cried out to Pearl in disbelief over her actions.

Pearl felt a tear rolling down her cheek and quickly wiped it away. She couldn't think about what she had done. She couldn't watch as he took his last breath. Brendan reacted, reaching for a candelabra that was near the altar where he and the couple had stood. The candles weren't lit, but it made for a formidable weapon. He struck her hard in the head, letting her collapse to the floor unconscious.

"Brendan?" Piper questioned. She stepped around the pile of warlock ashes that littered the main aisle of the church. She recognized him instantly, though she hadn't seen him in years.

"I'm sorry about Phoebe." He replied. "I figured something was wrong with her, maybe a spell gone a wry."

"Something like that." Piper answered.

"Ok, you two know each other?" Paige asked curiously.

Piper turned to Paige. "This is Brendan, he was a warlock that we helped a long time ago." She turned back to Brendan. "This is our long lost sister Paige."

"Wow, three sisters." He replied. "Why isn't Prue here to help?"

"Oh, well..." Piper trailed off. He must not have heard about her death. "She's not with us anymore. She had a shorter destiny than we did."

"I'm so sorry." He bowed his head in shock.

"I don't want to be rude, but we really need to take care of Phoebe and figure out what happened to Riley." Paige said.

"Of course. Go." Brendan insisted. "I'll clean up here."

Paige reached a hand out to Piper as her other hand reached for Phoebe's unconscious body. She orbed back to the manor immediately and focused on getting Pearl in a crystal cage until they could figure out how to remove her soul from Phoebe's body.

Piper rummaged through the book of shadows, looking for the perfect spell and or potion to help them with Phoebe. She knew there was something in the book about spirit dispossession. It was just a matter of finding the page.

* * *

Riley and Pearl were nearly married, but it came down to a choice for Pearl between love and power. In a twist, she chose power over her lover Anton, saving the sisters. Now they have to try and get her soul free from Phoebe. Let me know your thoughts...thanks!

**P.S.** There is only one more chapter to follow this one and then the story is complete.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Charmed or any of it's characters.

This is the final chapter. Thanks for the great reviews.

**CHAPTER 12**

Piper found what she was looking for in the book. It was a spirit dispossession potion. Thankfully, she had all the right ingredients needed for it. She headed into the kitchen, working as fast as she could on the potion, as Paige kept watch over Pearl.

Pearl had roused from her unconsciousness and was fighting the crystal cage. "You can't keep me in here." She argued.

"Wanna bet?" Paige asked rhetorically.

"I saved you back there and this is how you repay me?" Pearl snapped back.

Paige placed a hand on her hip. "In case you forgot, you tried to kill us first. You only saved us because you want our powers." Paige explained.

Piper finished with the potion and made her way back to the attic. "It's time to go, Pearl." She said. Paige kicked back one of the crystals on the floor, releasing Pearl from her cage. Piper dropped the potion bottle at her feet before Pearl could even react. Smoke from the potion billowed up and filled into her lungs as her spirit was starting to tear free from Phoebe's body. Her black spirit was free, but only for a moment before Hell swallowed it back into it's deep abyss.

Paige reached for Phoebe, as she staggered for a moment to stay on her feet. "Oh my god, I killed Riley." Phoebe cried out.

"Wait, what?" Paige asked with a dumbfounded look on her face.

"We haven't seen Riley since he took off with Zenic." Piper replied.

Phoebe sat on the old couch in the attic, her head rested in her hands. "He was Anton, Anton was Riley." She explained.

Paige looked at Piper. "Didn't you say, Anton's spirit could have been in Riley's body?" She asked.

"But I didn't see Riley at the church." Piper said.

Phoebe sighed. "Glamouring was one of Anton's powers. He looked like Riley when he first took me. We were at some apartment and next thing I knew, he looked like Anton. Then, Pearl took over." She explained. "In killing Anton, I killed Riley."

"Phoebe." Piper argued. "You didn't kill him. That was Pearl."

"She was the one calling the shots." Paige added in. "That's not your fault."

"But I feel so guilty." Phoebe replied.

"We can't save everyone." Paige assured her. "You have nothing to feel guilty over."

Over the next few days, the lives of the Charmed Ones were relatively easy going. There were no demon attacks or warlock attacks. Phoebe was able to slowly accept the loss of Riley. She was saddened to lose him, though she had only known him for barely a day, but came to realize there was nothing she could have done to save him. Pearl was the one who ultimately killed him. She knew that Pearl was suffering in Hell for all the wrongs she had done in her life.

Her and her sisters managed to find the apartment where Anton had taken Phoebe. They found Pearl's magic book and decided to dispose of it. Most of the spells were for personal gain and even though it was interesting to read about the past, about an ancestor of theirs, they decided to focus on the future and leave the past behind. They burned the book in the parlor's fireplace at the manor.

On a dreary Thursday morning was the funeral for Alyson's mother. In typical fashion, there were gray clouds in the sky and rain falling slowly from them, almost as if the heavens were mourning the loss of an innocent woman along with those who attended the funeral. The Charmed Ones stood behind the others, watching as a dark brown casket was lowered into the ground.

Alyson spoke about her mother briefly and then, thanked everyone for attending the funeral. She was fighting back tears as others walked up to mourn at the casket. Mark tried to console Alex. She stood, starring at the casket with tears streaming down her face. Alex had never lost anyone in her life besides a pet lizard when she was five years old. He knew it would take a while for her to get over such a loss.

The next afternoon, Alyson sat in the manor with Piper. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Piper asked. She held out a vile.

"I've done more harm than good with these supposed powers. I'm no witch." She replied, taking the vile. "I don't doubt that you and your sisters have done great things with your powers, but I don't want to risk ever hurting someone. I realize that it was wrong of me to do the spells I did, but it was all just so tempting and I don't ever want to feel that temptation again." She drank the vile quickly, making a face at how disgusting it tasted.

"Well, this isn't the same binding your mother did when you were younger. This is a full power stripping potion that Phoebe made earlier. Unfortunately, she had to be in to work for a last minute meeting." Piper explained.

"What about Alex?" Alyson asked. "Does this mean she's a witch too?"

"It's hard to say. We won't know until she comes into her powers and that's only if she comes into her powers." Piper said. "Some, like my boys, come into their powers early on as a child and some take longer to come into their powers."

"I suppose that if it happens, I'll just talk with Alex and let her decide what she wants to do." Alyson replied.

"Whatever she decides, we're always here if you need us. We can teach her the ropes or get her into some classes at magic school. It's all up to you." Piper assured her.

Alyson was grateful for the offer. She was grateful for Piper and her sisters and all they had done to help her family. Though she didn't want to have the temptation of magic at her disposal, she wasn't ready to take that opportunity away from Alex just yet. Being a witch was something she thought Alex should be able to decide for herself when the time came.

Over the next few weeks, Alyson lost her raise at work. It turned out to be a clerical error, something that was not intended to happen. Because of karma, Phoebe had suggested she donate some of her lottery winnings to a charity. So, she wrote a check out for eight thousand dollars and sent it to the American Heart Association.

Mark made up with Bridget and their wedding was now back on track. It certainly didn't please Alyson to hear that news, but she decided it would be better to get to know Bridget instead of writing her off completely. Mark was still the father of her child and she wanted them all to get along.

Alyson was worried she would have to give up her nice apartment now that she was nearly broke again, but her mother had left her a chunk of money and a beautiful old Victorian house on Prescott Street. She was going to be living again only a few houses down from the Halliwells, who turned out to be great friends to her and Alex over the next several years. When Alex discovered her powers, they were right there to help teach her the ropes, just as Piper had promised.

* * *

**THE END... **Thanks for reading. I hope you've enjoyed the story. Let me know your thoughts on the ending.


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